Melanting Waterfall: Munduk's Taller Fall in the Clove and Coffee Gardens

In Brief

Melanting waterfall is a fall of about 20 metres in the highland village of Munduk, in Buleleng. The regency's tourism office lists it in the hamlet of Banjar Dinas Taman, with its own local managers.

You reach it on foot, on a path through coffee, clove and fruit gardens. It is about 20 minutes' walk from Red Coral, Munduk's most visited fall, so the two fit into one morning.

Two things confuse visitors. The name Melanting has belonged to more than one fall in Munduk, and Pura Melanting is a temple near Pemuteran, in the west of the regency.

Melanting Waterfall at a Glance

• What it is: a waterfall of about 20 metres, among the tallest in Munduk village
• Where: Banjar Dinas Taman, Munduk, Banjar district, Buleleng (map pin from the regency's listing)
• Also claimed by: the village of Gobleg, which lists the fall among its own
• Run by: its own local managers, listed with the regency's tourism office
• The walk: footpaths through coffee, clove and fruit gardens, about 20 minutes from the Red Coral fall
• Swimming: sources disagree, so ask the managers first
• Pair with: Red Coral, Golden Valley and a Munduk coffee garden
• Not to be confused with: Pura Melanting, the traders' temple near Pemuteran

A footbridge on the waterfall walk below Munduk village, photographed near the Red Coral fall, not at Melanting itself. Photo: Mike Dickison / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Melanting Drops About 20 Metres, Taller Than Its Neighbours

Melanting is about 20 metres high, by the count of Buleleng's culture and tourism office.

The office's own page on the fall calls it one of Bali's tall waterfalls, set in the middle of coffee and clove gardens. You hear the roar of the water well before you see it. Flocks of songbirds live in the plantations around it.

A September 2025 report in the Singaraja paper Tatkala measures it against the village's other falls:

• Red Coral (also Munduk Waterfall or Tanah Barak): about 15 metres, the most visited, close to the main road
• Melanting: about 20 metres, a 20-minute walk from Red Coral
• Golden Valley: 8 to 10 metres, with a café beside the fall

Tatkala's reporter found visitors drawn to Melanting by the height of its cliff and the volume of its water.

One older source gives a very different height. A 2013 Garuda inflight magazine feature, republished by the same office, puts Melanting at about 200 metres. The office's own 2018 page and Tatkala both give about 20 metres.

The Name Melanting Has Belonged to More Than One Fall

Munduk Waterfall, the village's busiest, goes by two other names, Red Coral and Tanah Barak.

One of its managers, Putu Yudiantara, told detikBali in April 2024 that it was first called Air Terjun Melanting. The name Tanah Barak caught on later, he said, after the red earth around its car park. Barak is the Balinese word for red.

Today the regency's Visit North Bali listing treats Melanting as a separate fall with its own managers. Tatkala's September 2025 report does the same, and puts the two falls 20 minutes apart on foot.

A signpost on Munduk's waterfall walk pointing to Red Coral, the fall one of its managers says was first called Melanting. Photo: Mike Dickison / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Two villages list the fall as their own. The regency places Melanting in Munduk. The Gobleg village website lists it as a Gobleg waterfall, next to its Labuhan Kebo fall. Both villages are in Banjar district, and the 2013 feature names Gobleg among the villages around Munduk.

For you, the fix is simple. Use the regency's map pin, and say "Melanting, Munduk" when you brief a driver.

The Walk In Runs Through Working Clove, Coffee and Fruit Gardens

Melanting is reached on foot, and the gardens along the way are half the visit.

Tatkala's reporter passed coffee, clove and many kinds of local fruit on the path. The signposted route from the village road, and its slippery stretches, are in the Munduk guide.

Clove is the crop Munduk's farmers are proudest of, the 2013 feature found. The harvest usually runs from May to August. Outside those months the trees are mostly leaf, with a few brown, fragrant buds left on the branches.

Dried cloves for sale in Munduk village. Photo: Mike Dickison / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

The village keeps the paths up itself. Putu Yudiantara, who also guides in Munduk, told Tatkala that villagers work together to keep the trekking paths to the falls clean. They have put up signposts too. Every Friday the village cleans together, a day called Jumat Bersih, Clean Friday.

Wayan Tami keeps a small spice stall near the waterfall. Few people once stopped to buy spices, the stall keeper told Tatkala. Now plenty buy the dried cloves, chillies and coffee.

Swimming at Melanting: Sources Disagree, So Ask First

The regency's listing names swimming and picnics among the things to do at the fall.

The 2013 feature found a pool about 20 metres by 20, with a floor of river stones. It also warned of leeches in the water.

The same Tatkala report says visitors cannot swim at Melanting, unlike at Red Coral. That is the most recent account, so ask the managers before you get in.

The Village Runs a Guided Trek to Red Coral and Two Nearby Falls

Munduk is a registered tourism village, and its valleys hold several waterfalls between 10 and 56 metres high. Both facts come from the village's page on Jadesta, Indonesia's tourism-ministry register of tourism villages.

The village lists a guided Red Coral Waterfall trek on the same site. It starts from your lodging and passes clove, coffee, vanilla and avocado gardens. It can add two more falls nearby, though the listing does not name them. The walk comes back by a different path, and the village rates it medium and about two hours long.

You can also walk it on your own along the village signposts. The Munduk waterfalls and hiking guide covers Golden Valley and the falls further east at Wanagiri, including Banyumala Twin Waterfall.

Melanting Waterfall and Pura Melanting Are Different Places

Pura Melanting is a temple in Banyupoh village, Gerokgak district, about 50 kilometres west of Singaraja.

Its Visit North Bali listing describes it as a place of worship for Hindus, especially traders, in the forest at the foot of Pemuteran hill. Its story and its tie to Pura Pulaki are in the temples of north Bali.

Search for "Melanting" alone on a map and either can come up. Add "Munduk" or "waterfall" to the name.

How to Fit It In

Melanting and Red Coral make one morning on foot from the village.

Add a coffee garden visit on the way back, or drive on to Lake Buyan and Lake Tamblingan. The regency suggests a private car or a hired car with a driver to reach the fall. For a driver for the day, see private drivers in north Bali.

For the other falls in the region, start with the north Bali waterfalls guide.

Practical Notes

• Finding it: use the regency's map pin, and say "Melanting, Munduk" to a driver.
• Entry: by ticket from the local managers, as the Munduk village website notes. Prices change, so ask at the gate.
• Footwear: shoes with grip, since parts of the path are mossy rock above a steep slope.
• Swimming: ask the managers first, and watch for leeches.
• Clove season: May to August, when the trees carry the harvest.
• Rubbish: carry it out. The village holds a clean-up of its own every Friday.

FAQ

Where is Melanting waterfall? In the highland village of Munduk, Banjar district, Buleleng, in the hamlet of Banjar Dinas Taman. The regency's Visit North Bali listing carries a map pin. Gobleg, a village close to Munduk, also lists the fall as its own.

How tall is Melanting waterfall? About 20 metres, according to Buleleng's culture and tourism office and a September 2025 Tatkala report. That makes it taller than Red Coral, at about 15 metres. A 2013 magazine feature republished by the same office gave about 200 metres.

Is Melanting the same as Munduk Waterfall? Today they are listed as two falls about 20 minutes apart on foot. One manager of Munduk Waterfall, also called Red Coral or Tanah Barak, told detikBali it was first called Melanting. So a sign or a driver may use the name for either.

Can you swim at Melanting waterfall? Sources disagree. The regency lists swimming, and a 2013 feature found a stony pool with leeches. Tatkala reported in September 2025 that visitors cannot swim there. Ask the managers at the fall.

How long is the walk to Melanting waterfall? About 20 minutes from Red Coral, by Tatkala's account. The village's guided Red Coral trek, which can include two nearby falls, takes about two hours.

Is Melanting waterfall near Pura Melanting? No. Pura Melanting is a temple at Banyupoh, about 50 kilometres west of Singaraja near Pemuteran. The waterfall is up in the Munduk highlands.

Sources

• Buleleng Culture and Tourism Office, Panorama Alam Aduahai Air Terjun Melanting, April 2018, for the height, the coffee and clove gardens, the roar and the birds, read October 2026 (in Indonesian)
• Buleleng Culture and Tourism Office, Menikmati Hening dan Sejuk Desa Munduk, a 2013 Garuda inflight feature republished in 2015, for the 200-metre figure, the pool, the leeches, the clove harvest and Gobleg, read October 2026 (in Indonesian)
• Buleleng Regency, Visit North Bali, Melanting Waterfall, for the hamlet, the managers, the map pin, the activities and the way to get there, read October 2026 (in English)
• Buleleng Regency, Visit North Bali, Melanting Temple, for the temple's location and its traders, read October 2026 (in English)
• Tatkala, Tiga Air Terjun yang Eksotik, Pemikat Wisata di Desa Munduk-Buleleng, September 2025, for the three falls compared, the walk, swimming, Clean Friday and the spice stall, read October 2026 (in Indonesian)
• detikBali, Menjelajahi Air Terjun Tanah Barak di Desa Munduk, April 2024, for the earlier name of Munduk Waterfall, read October 2026 (in Indonesian)
• Gobleg Village, Objek Wisata Melanting Waterfall, April 2018, for Gobleg's listing of the fall, read October 2026 (in Indonesian)
• Munduk Village, Objek Wisata Air Terjun Desa Munduk, for the entry ticket, read October 2026 (in Indonesian)
• Ministry of Tourism, Jadesta, Desa Wisata Munduk and Red Coral Waterfall Trekking, for the waterfall heights and the village trek, read October 2026 (in Indonesian)

Read next: Munduk waterfalls and hiking, the Munduk guide and the coffee gardens of Munduk.